


Taking a Different Path (No Matter How Different the Path)

by ShadeCrawler



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Blood, Gen, Medical Experimentation, Possible Character Death, Stitches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22306861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeCrawler/pseuds/ShadeCrawler
Summary: Summary: Virgil decides to take a completely different path from his family. If only his family weren’t superheroes than maybe it’d be easier.Warnings: Blood, medical experiments, stitches, and possible dead body.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Everyone
Comments: 10
Kudos: 84





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

* * *

##  **January 1st, 2001**

**11:50 PM**

* * *

* * *

“Run! Run!”

Patton’s footsteps pounded against the floor as he ran down the hallway. Roman was wailing in his ear, his little white wings flapping so hard that they kept almost hitting him in the face. But Patton didn’t stop running for a moment, not with the blaring alarm echoing in his ears or the sounds of guards and scientists screaming for someone to grab them.

A scream was pulled from Patton when a hand grabbed his arm, a guard turning him around roughly, when Logan came out of nowhere, slamming into the attacker. The attacker went flying into a wall and fell with a dull thud. Patton didn’t even have a moment to stare at the still guard in horror because Logan was already pulling him along. “We can’t stop,” Logan muttered. “Not for a moment. We need to get to ground level where I can punch a hole in the wall and we can escape.”

“I know,” Patton whimpered. Their hospital gowns fluttered around their knees as they ran, stained with blood from their earlier sessions with the Doctors. Patton could feel the stitches on his side strain with each step and, from the blood dripping down his side, some must’ve been pulled out. But Patton managed to keep up a steady pace next to Logan.

That is until a baby’s wail pierced the air. And it wasn’t Roman’s.

The two preteens stumbled to a stop, Patton’s arms tightening around Roman and the baby squirming at the pressure on his wings. “What was that,” Logan muttered, adjusting his cracked glasses nervously. “Patton, did you hear that?”

“Mhmm,” Patton hummed. He gently bounced Roman up and down as he looked around. He perked up when the baby’s wail picked up again. “Over here,” he whispered, turning away from where they had been running and toward the wailing.

“Patton! Wait!”

Patton ignored his friend’s protests and kept running until he reached a doorway where crying and annoyed mutters were coming from. He poked his head in and his vision went red.

“Stop it!”

The scientists holding the crying newborn turned but didn’t have time to react. They were lifted up into the air by invisible hands, the baby dropping harmlessly into the bassinet they had come from. They were completely helpless and could only scream as they were pinned against the ceiling.

Patton has his hand held out to them and was sneering at them angrily. Roman was held to his chest with one arm, crying at the blood dripping out of Patton’s nose. But his and the other baby’s crying could barely be heard from the pounding of blood in Patton’s ears.

They. Hurt. Babies. _How dare they? How dare they hurt them, don’t they have any souls?! Don’t they realize how evil what they’ve done is? How dare they, **how dare they-**_

“Patton. You need to breathe. You, you’re making me cry.”

Patton tore his gaze away from the scientists and looked to Logan, Logan with tears and snot smeared across his face. His friend was desperately turning to wipe them away but more kept coming. “We can’t l-linger here,” Logan sniffed. “P-please, knock them out and w-we can go!”

A moment passed before the scientists dropped to the ground unceremoniously, Patton gasped, pulling Logan to his chest. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, I was just angry, I’m-

"It’s okay,” Logan whispered, hugging him back tightly. The hug lasted for a moment longer before the moment was broken by the one year old between them squirming and fussing up at them. 

Patton chuckled wetly and pulled away, wiping away the tears that had leaked from Roman in the middle of his own little breakdown. “Shhh, shhh, you’re okay,” he whispered. He looked up at the bassinet and walked forward, stepping over the crying and whimpering scientists without sparing them a look, “We’re taking this one too,” Patton told Logan and Roman, reaching down and picking the small - oh so small - baby up and cradling him in his free arm. The baby looked like he was barely an hour old, still red and wrinkled and looking so put out. There was a tiny cut on his cheek that must’ve come from the scalpal held limp in one of the Doctors’ hands.

They were adorable.

“Patton,” Logan said softly. He kept glancing to the door nervously. The alarms were still blaring and they both knew that their window was closing. “It’s stupid enough that we’re taking Roman. We don’t know how to live out there ourselves, let alone babies. But taking two of them? We had a plan-”

“We’re taking both of them,” Patton repeated firmly, walking back to him. He looked down at the sniffling newborn and gently rubbed a finger against their cheek. He smiled softly. “That’s the new plan.

Logan didn’t say anything for a long moment before he whispered, "Fine. I suppose we have a new plan then.”

* * *

* * *

_**19 Years Later** _

_**January 13th, 2020** _

_**7AM** _

* * *

* * *

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Virgil groaned and rolled over in his bed, smacking his hand against the bedside dress without looking, trying to find his alarm clock. It took a few moments for him to realize that he must’ve knocked his alarm clock to the ground in the middle of the night and grimaced. Fuck, just great. He was awake now and no hitting snooze was going to stop that. 

He kicked and shoved at his blankets, wiggling out from under them and sitting up. Virgil rubbed at his eyes as he got up and winced at the continuous ringing of his alarm. “Fuck it, shut the fuck up,” he muttered, crouching down and fishing his alarm out from under the bed, smacking the top of it in annoyance. 

The ringing stopped and Virgil sighed. He tossed the alarm on his bed and grabbed his phone on the way to the bathroom He paused and turned on the radio, putting the volume up on max as he started his day.

_“…And the latest story from last night, Icarus, Theseus, and Heart stopped the Maxus bank robbery! Icarus stopped for a brief comment last night before Theseus pulled him away saying that they might have a new hero joining their little group soon-”_

Virgil turned off the radio.

It was a few minutes later when Virgil got distracted from brushing his teeth with his phone vibrating. He took it out and internally sighed at the countless messages that he had been sent in the middle of the night. He brought up his messages, clicking a contact at random.

Nerdy bro 💙💪🏽

[Virgil, you will be pleased to hear that I kept our idiotic brother from both dying and saying too much of something that would very much annoy you last night. I will tell you more at dinner this Saturday. Rest assured that Roman will keep his temper in check and his metaphorical feet out of his metaphorical mouth. Please keep in mind that I am very proud of you and I hope you learn plenty today at school. Have a good day, little kitten.

-Logan Sanders]

Virgil smiled a little at Logan’s message. His oldest brother was the best, always so supportive of Virgil’s decisions and treating him like an actual adult. It made Virgil not feel so much like the “baby brother” and an equal in their family. 

Emo Bat🦇

[Thanks, Lo, I appreciate it. I’ll see you Saturday. Love you too, Teach.]

Unfortunately, Roman’s message plucked Virgil right out of the good mood Logan’s had. 

Big Bird 🐦

[Virgil, why didn’t you come to training?! 😡😡You might not have an aggressive power like the rest of us but you still need to learn how to work with us so you won’t mess up on the field! You even missed a bank robbery, that could’ve been your big break! Call me today! And come to morning training!]

Virgil got out of Roman’s messages and went to Remy’s, smiling at the typo-filled message telling him when he’d be picking him up for school today. Okay, fine, today wouldn’t suck so much. He had his big brother, his best friend, and he could still call Patton at some point and they could hang out. Yeah, it was completely and totally fine. 

He put his phone away and finished up brushing his teeth. Virgil quickly got dressed and ruffled his hair, looking himself over in the mirror. A small teen with a light scar on his cheek and one green eye and one purple eye looked back at him. He grimaced and pulled out his case of contact lenses, pulling out the single green one inside. After a few painful moments, Virgil managed to get the contact lens inside and successfully hiding the bright purple eye from the world.

Perfect. He looked semi-normal.

It only took a few more minutes to grab his book bag and jacket, rushing outside to wait for Remy. And it was lucky that he arrived when he did. If he had been a minute later or a minute earlier, he might’ve missed the little bird slamming into his apartment door window with a dull thud, dropping to the ground and out of sight.

Dread pooled in Virgil’s stomach and he quickly opened the door. “Don’t be dead, don’t be dead,” he whispered as he crouched down and gently picked the bird up, cradling it in his hands. Relief flooded him as the bird chirped weakly. But a wing was bent at an awkward angle and it didn’t look like it would last a trip to the hospital.

Virgil didn’t have a choice on what else to do.

He brought the bird up to his face and smiled down at the bird gently. The bird looked up at him and stared, the green and purple light coming from Virgil’s eyes lighting up the bird’s face. It chirped and shook its wings out, the bent one snapping back into place. Within seconds, the bird looked good as new.

“There you go,” Virgil whispered with a little smile. The light from his eyes died down and the pull from his gut lessened. “Not so bad now. Go on and join your friends.” He held his hands out and grinned when the bird took flight, flying off to the park across the street. Virgil smiled and stuck his hands into his pockets. “Good day,” he assured himself. “Good day today, it’s a good day.” He closed his door and sat down on the ground, waiting patiently for Remy. He put Roman’s message from his mind and fished his earbuds from his pockets.

By the time he had untangled them, Remy had pulled up in front of his house. “Gurl,” they called, ignoring the scandalized looks from passersby at such a loud voice so early in the morning. “It’s 7 AM and I’m tired as fuck! And I’m a girl today so she and her today got it?!”

“Got it, got it,” Virgil snickered, pushing himself up and walking to the car. “Damn, did you get any sleep last night?”

The look he received was not a kind on but it got Virgil snickering loudly. “It was bonfire night,” Remy said dryly, pointing at him with a scowl. “The night where you get pissed drunk and party your heart out. And the fact that it was a Monday wasn’t about to stop me.”

“And the fact that we have a test today apparently wasn’t going to either,” Virgil said, gently bumping his shoulder against hers. 

Remy rolled her eyes. “Puh-lease. I got this test in the bag. I might not be like you, Mister. I’m-the-best-vet-student-in-the-class, but I know this inside out.”

“Mhmm,” Virgil hummed with a smile. “And I’m not the best-”

“Can’t hear you,” Remy drawled, hitting the gas and driving down the street. “Too busy going to pass that test with flying colours!”

Virgil smiled fondly at his best friend and relaxed in his seat. Good day, good day. Pass his test, meet up with Patton, it would be a good-

The car screeched to a stop suddenly and Virgil’s heart jumped up into his throat as he braced himself, the seatbelt barely stopping him from slamming into the dashboard. He winced when Remy pounded on the horn furiously. “What the hell are you doing,” she screamed, pulling her window down. And she wasn’t the only one. The drivers in front of them and several others had suddenly stopped, the drivers behind them barely stopping in time. People were getting out of their cars in confusion and annoyance.

“Look,” the driver in front of them cried, ignorant of Remy’s anger and completely focused on what was happening up in the sky. “It’s Heart and Icarus!”

Virgil looked up and scowled. Flying high above the city and making several flashy moves was Icarus, showing off his bright white wings to the adoring crowd before. And beside him was Heart, cheerfully waving down at everyone as he floated beside Icarus happily.

Annnnnnnnnnd, there went his good day.

Virgil pulled out his phone and pulled up Patton on his contacts.

Emo Bat🦇

[Patton, you’re holding up the street.]

He looked up just in time to see Heart pulling out his own phone and beaming when he, presumingly, saw just who had texted up.

Bleeding Heart❤️

[Sorry, Baby bro! Me and Roro were just checking things out and we’re just stopping for a sec to make sure no one’s hurt! I can’t believe they all stopped when they saw us. Sillies! Oh, are you down there? Today’s your big test today, right? Good luck, Honey! Are you coming to training this morning? I’d love to see you!]

Virgil sighed and rubbed at his eyes. Unlike with Roman, he couldn’t get mad at Patton. Not when the big dork just wanted to see his baby brother. But… he made a promise to himself. 

Emo Bat🦇

[Sorry, Patty. But we’ll see each other today at lunch, remember?]

Up in the air, Patton visibly deflated but Virgil could still see his little sad and proud smile.

Bleeding Heart❤️

[Of course, VeeVee. I’ll see you then and I better hear all about your big fancy College life! Love you, Honey!]

Emo Bat🦇

[Love you too Pat.]

Virgil sighed and watched as Patton and Roman flew off, Roman blowing kisses to the crowd below. He kept watching the sky, even as Remy got back in the car with a furious scowl. “Stupid heroes and stupid fucking idiots,” she muttered. “I mean, do you see me stopping in the middle of the street to gawk at heroes that have been in our damn city for years now? Isn’t that so stupid, Vee?”

“Yeah,” Virgil said softly, putting his phone away. He glanced at the car clock and sighed. They’d be late at this point. “Real stupid.”

He listened silently to Remy’s curses the entire way to their school, driving as fast as she could. And even then, they only just skidded into the parking lot with a few minutes late. The two of them ran inside, Virgil pulling his jacket on clumsily as he did and Remy patting down her hair to try and make it seem kind of even a little presentable. 

They ran inside their classroom just as their teacher was getting to Virgil on the attendance. “Virgil Sanders?”

“Here,” Virgil gasped, sitting down in the front seat. He slumped down, digging into his bookbag and pulling out his pencil and eraser. “I’m here!”

“And just barely,” the teacher said dryly but with an amused smile. “Remy Somnue?”

Remy waved a hand at them, sitting down and pulling out her own supplies. “Here!”

“Perfect. Your tests are on your desks. No talking, phones, or looking at each other’s papers. This is a three-hour test. You may start when you’re ready.”

Virgil immediately flipped his papers over and stared at the cover page. He took a deep page and started his three-hour test that would be very important in his plan.

The clock behind the teacher’s desk hit 8:30, announcing the official start of this test and the official start of morning training back at Virgil’s old home.

Virgil started his test.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: In the present, Logan and Patton deal with the fallout of Virgil’s decision to go to College. In the past, the Doctors deal with the fallout of their subjects’ escape.
> 
> Warnings: unethical experiments mentions, mentions of surgical actions, mentions of death, and dead bodies.

* * *

* * *

##  _**January 2nd, 2001** _

##  _**12:45 AM** _

* * *

* * *

Guards and scientists walked around the facility slowly putting things back in order and gathering to help each other bandage each other up. The few dead bodies were dragged off to be dealt with and the injured were put into the medical wing to be treated. And the Doctors in charge walked off to their conference room to discuss the escape of their four most promising subjects.

The head Doctor sat in their chair, staring down at the files on the patients numbly as the others argued all around them. They drummed their fingers against the table and tried their best to figure out how things went so wrong. The subjects had been chipped and stuck in their cells when they had last seen them. Two were literal babies and the other two had their powers controlled through the chip. There was no conceivable way they could’ve escaped.

They stared down at the files on the table, the subjects’ faces looking back up at them, mocking them. The head Doctor sighed and shook their head. They had been so careful with this project. Each move carefully calculated and the subjects had been taken from different Countries so they couldn’t be traced.

Subject #LG5656 had been born in India fourteen years ago and had been taken from a young couple in the dead of night. The couple had been kind and obviously loved their son. They would’ve been the perfect parents. But they were very gullible and very easy to be fooled into thinking that their young son had died an hour after his death. The Head Doctor had been there and had watched as the couple walked away with agony written across their faces.

But the Head Doctor had their first subject.

And they watched their subject grow and take to the chemicals they had pumped through his veins well. Unlike others, subject #LG5656 had gotten through the pain of the treatment and had been the first subject to gain his powers. The Head Doctor had watched him grow and become more and more physically powerful each day. The last time they had seen him, he had long dark hair reaching his shoulders, the same dark skin of his parents, and intelligent brown eyes. With an IQ of 195 and strength that outmatched any Human, the Head Doctor knew that subject #LG5656 would be someone to watch as time went on.

And almost just as impressive was subject #LG5656’s cellmate, subject #MH3453.

Subject #MH34453 had been taken from Russia a year after subject #LG5656 had been taken and with him, the first Lookalike. Subject #MH3453 had been abandoned at the hospital right at birth which had made him very easy to acquire. And subject #MH3453 had survived the treatment laughably easy and, unlike subject #LG5656, had the powers of the mind instead of the muscles.

But unlike subject #MH3453, the first Lookalike had been an utter disappointment and had been shoved to the side. The Head Doctor scowled as he thought of the first Lookalike’s scaly face and shoved the thought of that monster from his mind and went back to reminiscing past events. 

The Head Doctor had been more than impressed to see subject #MH3453 crush cans with his mind and manipulate a person’s emotions with ease. Subject #MH3453 looked like the most innocent person, able to swindle almost anyone. He was Caucasian with bouncy honey-blond hair, freckles all over his face and arms, with bright blue eyes hidden behind a pair of big round glasses.

Pairing him with subject #LG5656 had been a smart move. They had opposite temperaments and personalities but somehow; they seemed to just click and whenever they had partner tests, they always seemed to pass. They wouldn’t have survived this long if they hadn’t.

The Head Doctor had been hopeful with those two in this program. Things would go nicely. But they were someone who looked to the future always. Subject #LG5656 and subject #MH3453 were good and would be amazing in the future. But the Head Doctor needed someone to fall back on who wasn’t the Lookalike.

Which is where he had found subject #RR7897 and the second Lookalike. 

Subject #RR7897 was fascinating. Born to a pregnant teenage mother from Cuba just a year ago and had supposed to be given to an older couple in a closed adoption with the second Lookalike. But the Head Doctor’s research team had found them both first and brought them to the Head Doctor. The Head Doctor had immediately started the treatment to see who would become his third subject and who would become the second Lookalike. And subject #RR7897 hadn’t disappointed, not like the second Lookalike who had promptly been dumped into the cell of the other one as the Head Doctor focused solely onto his latest subject.

With bright white wings, subject #RR7897 had plenty of potential to him already. He was able to complete the small tests Doctors gave him and had started to stretch the little wings that the treatment had given him. He fit right in with the other subjects and the Head Doctor could already see that the little one would be like subject #MH3453. Sweet and innocent and could hopefully be used to get information from others. He had a headful of brown fluffy hair, light brown skin, and hazel eyes and was so cute that he had many of the softer doctors cooing over him and giving him extra treats and rewards.

The Head Doctor quickly put a stop to that.

And then… potential subject #AV9909. They had found the baby when the mother was still in labour and the baby had barely been born before they had grabbed him and was bringing him from Jamaica and back to the Hospital to be brought to the head Doctor. The Doctor had taken one look at the baby with dark skin, fuzzy barely-there hair on the top of the head and face screwed up tight and had told their team of Doctors to start him on the treatment. The baby would either succeed and become subject #AV9909 or he would become a failure. Of perhaps he’d have powers similar to subject #LG5656 and become the third Lookalike.

However…. the Head Doctor didn’t know the result of the treatment now. Because all four of their subjects were now gone.

They were drawn out of their thoughts by a fellow Doctor accusing another of something that made them bristle. “Say that again,” they said calmly and cooly, cutting through the din of screaming. They slowly looked up from the files and glared at the suddenly frozen Doctor. “What did you say?”

The younger Doctor swallowed, nervous with all eyes on them. “I saw Doctor Abe shut off the chips on the subjects,” they said softly. “Right after the last session.”

The Head Doctor’s eyes narrowed, and they slowly turned to look at the Doctor in question, all the blood had drained from his face. “You did what,” he whispered.

“I-I didn’t turn them off,” he stuttered anxiously. That earned him an arched eyebrow and a wave of the hand telling him to move on. “It was just after a series of tests and the tests were interfering with the chips so I, I… I cut them out so I could complete the tests and then I was going to put them back in later on.”

The silence in the conference room was so thick that no knife could even think of breaking it.

“You… cut them out?”

“Yes, Sir,” the Doctor Abe stuttered. “I was going to-“

The Head Doctor stood, a furious scowl on their face. “The chips track the subjects,” they hissed. “They control the subjects’ powers. They can send a controlled shock through them. You could’ve turned them off for a short time but instead cut them out. And where on they now?”

Doctor Abe shrunk back. “I-in a dish on my desk.”

“In a dish on your desk,” the Head Doctor repeated, each word more cold than the last. They looked the shaking Doctor Abe up and down in disgust. “Get out of my sight,” they hissed. “I would deal with you myself but I can’t stand the thought of your idiocy being in the same room of me for a moment longer.” The Head Doctor glared at the idiot until he got the hint and ran out of the room, the door swinging behind him. They glanced at a guard with a pointed look at the guard nodded, following the soon-to-be-dealt-with Doctor out.

“I trust no one else in this room is as moronic as them,” the Head Doctor said, turning to the rest of their team. It was only after they all nodded that the Head Doctor continued. “Good. Now, it’s time to find a way to move forward.”

They looked around and raised their eyebrows. “Thoughts?”

“We focus on getting the subjects back,” a woman doctor said immediately, adjusting her glasses. “We get them back, rechip them, and continue on with the tests. Easy.”

“Easy,” the Head Doctor repeated with an air of incredulous. “You think getting the subjects back will be easy?”

The woman doctor shrugged and said patronizingly, “They’re just children. How far can they get in this world?”

The Head Doctor tapped their fingers against the table. “How far indeed,” they muttered. “What you fail to take into account is that these … children … are brilliant. Subject #LG5656’s IQ is just below genius levels and subject #MH3453 can read people exceptionally well. They could elude us.”

“And they’ll be hiding an infant with wings,” she shot back. She pushed her frizzy hair behind her ear and pointed at the files. “We should put out a search team to find them.”

“Obviously,” the Head Doctor muttered. They stared at the files and chewed their lip. The subjects were the best of the best and they would need to get them back if they were to get the best results. And the ideal situation would be to get them back but… just in case… “Send out a search team,” they ordered. They straightened up, clasped their hands behind their back, and said firmly, “And start more tests on the Lookalikes. Until the subjects return, they will take their place.

“But this is only until we recapture the subjects. And then, the Lookalikes will return to their cells and we’ll resume our lives as normal.”

* * *

* * *

##  _**January 13, 2020  
8:45 AM** _

* * *

* * *

“You’re not focused.” Logan grabbed his younger brother’s arm, very gently twisting it and forcing his brother down to the floor. He avoided the large flapping wings and carefully pinned Roman, making sure not to put too much weight on him. “You know that being distracted in the field could prove deadly, Roman.”

Logan could almost feel the annoyance and wounded pride radiate off of Roman but he kept a firm hold on Roman until Roman smacked a hand against the ground in surrender. Logan let Roman up, patting him on his shoulder gently. “What’s going on, little one,” he asked softly, tilting his head up a little to be able to look Roman in the eyes. “You’re angry, unfocused, and have been for quite a while now.”

“It’s not any of your business,” Roman mumbled, brushing off imaginary dust from his workout shirt. His feathers were puffed up in anger, something that Logan had gotten quite used to seeing lately. “I’m fine, Logan.”

“Are you,” Logan shot at him. He crossed his arms and shook his head. “I will not push, Roman. But you’ve been out of sorts ever since Virgil left to go to -“ he trailed off as Roman left their training ground in a huff. “We shall talk later then,” Logan muttered. 

He sighed and rubbed at his eyes as he walked from the mat he and Roman had been sparing on and grabbed a towel, wiping at his face. That had been an alright training session, he supposed. No arguments and no injuries. Just anger coming from Roman that seemed to come from nowhere, low morale coming from all of his brothers, and a baby brother who no longer attended any training sessions at all.

 _Lovely_.

Logan tossed his towel to the side and started to put the mats away. Their “training ground” was, in fact, their adoptive father’s unusually large basement. It had more than enough room for them to spare comfortably and use any equipment that their father had bought or found for them. It was full to the brim with equipment, sparring mats, and a mini-fridge full of Gatorade and other healthy snacks. Logan had spent hours upon hours down here.

And yet with his youngest brother away at College and his second youngest brother full of anger and resentment, it felt like a stranger’s basement.

“Hey, Lolo? Wanna spar?”

Logan’s lips twitched up into a fond smile as he turned to see Patton standing there in his workout clothes, a flashy headband, and a bright and happy smile. Of course, if there was anything that could put things back into balance, it was his best friend and closest brother.

Logan remembered the days in the Hospital with only Patton at his side, before Roman and before Virgil. Only his friend who wanted more than anything to put a smile on his face and keep him safe. In all that had changed in these past years, those two things hadn’t changed even a little. “Of course,” Logan said, moving over to a sparing mat and shifting into his fighting stance. “Did you complete your solo exercises?”

Patton grinned and copied Logan’s stance. “Sure did!” He wiped away some sweat from his brow dramatically. “And all’s sweats are off on me not having sore muscles later on!”

“Just for that,” Logan grumbled, fighting back a smile, “I’ll make sure not to go easy on you.”

Patton’s laugh echoed through the basement as they spared against each other but with how well they knew each other, not a single punch managed to land. No matter how hard they tried to hit each other, they were just too well-matched and knew each other too well. But it was Logan who eventually bowed out, stepping off the mat with a warm smile. “You win,” he told Patton. 

Patton beamed at him, gasping for breath. Both of them were drenched in sweat and completely exhausted. But they walked upstairs a little more happy than when they went downstairs. 

If only that happy mood would continue throughout the entire week. But with everything that had been happening lately, Logan couldn’t help but have his doubts. He sighed and his smile dropped. “You’re off to meet Virgil this afternoon, correct?”

“Yep,” Patton said, cracking his shoulder and wincing. Logan bit back a grimace of his own. They were not as young as they used to be. “I’m meeting with him for lunch today. You should come!”

Logan smiled at him, for a moment enjoying the thought of seeing his baby brother. But… “I’d love to but with how Roman is right now, I think I should stay here. I’d like to be able to keep an eye on him.”

Patton sighed and shook his head as they reached up to the top of the basement stairs, shifting the bookcase to the side that hid the secret entrance. “He’s so…. irritable lately. And he said to the reporter last night that Virgil’s joining the team when he already said he won’t and,” Patton trailed off and sighed again. “I just wish we could all get along again. You know, like we did when we were kids.”

“Ah, yes, as we were kids,” Logan said with an amused gleam in his eyes. “As I remembered, we all got along because there is no use for fighting on the road. And Roman and Virgil couldn’t talk properly until Father had adopted us.”

Patton giggled. “Okay, you’re not wrong. I just,” he shrugged, “I miss having my brothers around.” His smile saddened. “I’m so proud of Virgil for going to College. The first in the family. But… a part of me wished that he hadn’t left. What if something happens to him?”

Logan nodded, a feeling of nostalgia washing over him. He remembered holding Virgil as a small baby in his arms and wished for a moment that they could go back to those days. But then he remembered the pain and suffering of those early days and pushed it back. Things were better now, no matter how different it was. “We cannot keep him here forever. It was time he started his own life.” Logan smiled at Patton gently. “He will reach out if something were to happen. You know he would.”

Logan started forward, intent on making himself a healthy breakfast. But he froze when Patton said softly, “And what if one of the Doctors find him?” He slowly turned to meet Patton’s scared eyes. “It could happen,” Patton said helplessly. “And Virgil’s powers aren’t aggressive like ours. He would be completely helpless against them.”

“…” Logan’s hands clenched at the thought of his baby brother back in a cell and put through the same tests that he and Patton had been put through. “Virgil will never be helpless,” he said firmly, turning away from the knowing eyes of his brother. “No matter what happens, he will always have us there to help him.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: In the past, the four subjects find themselves on the run. In the present, Patton and Virgil chat over lunch.
> 
> Warnings: death mention, gun mention, starvation mention.

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##  _**January 3, 2001  
**__**9:36 PM**_

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Logan stared down at the small bundle in his arms. Sweat was glistening on the baby's forehead and an unhappy frown was twisting at his lips, a little hand sticking out of the makeshift blanket they had made from a hospital gown they had found when escaping the Hospital. Logan felt a twinge of sympathy for the small child but couldn't be upset that he had finally fallen asleep. The day had been full of loud crying, no matter how much Patton and Logan had tried to calm him down. Which had set off Roman's cries.

Logan could feel a headache beginning to form. They were going to be back in their cells by morning, he just knew it. And all because Patton had convinced him that taking two babies who could only cry to voice their complaints was a good idea.

Correction, they both knew that it was a terrible idea. Babies needed things that neither of them knew anything about. They were loud and attention-getting by nature. And they normally didn't have wings which Roman did. Bringing them along was a sure-fire way to make sure that the Doctors found them and either dragged them right back to the Hospital or shoot them right in the head.

And it wasn't like Logan liked the idea of leaving the babies to the Doctors! He hated the idea of leaving little Roman, little Roman who cooed and giggled whenever Logan and Patton made funny faces at him, in the hands of the evil Doctors. The ones who pinched and drew blood from his wings. It was why they had tricked Doctor Abe in cutting out his chip too when he was cutting out Patton's and Logan's! And the idea of the Doctors gaining a new labrat made Logan's stomach turn and tighten his hold on the small bundle in his arms. 

But... they made this whole thing so much harder. How could Logan adequately protect Patton with two very unhappy babies in tow? Logan looked over to his best friend, slumped on his side with Roman cuddled to his chest. The four of them were in the back of the pickup truck they had stowed away on, hidden underneath a big black tarp. Roman and the currently unnamed child were fast asleep, exhausted from the past two days of excitement, their long hours of crying, and complete lack of food. It was a whole mess and they needed to find food soon. Logan had stolen a bottle of water from the pickup truck when the owner had gone into a gas station for a few minutes but that hadn't lasted nearly as long as it could've if it was just him and Patton. They could've made it last a day between them. The whole bottle was drained before Logan or Patton could properly even wet their lips.

Logan sighed and looked down at the sleeping baby in his arms. He was thinner than he had been when they had found him and Logan knew that the baby wouldn't last much longer without proper baby food.

Whatever the hell that was.

And they had been so, so lucky that the Doctors had placed him in a washable diaper. Washing the diaper in a river definitely wasn't ideal but they weren't in the most ideal of circumstances.

"You will most likely die before we reach the next town," Logan whispered to the sleeping baby. "Both you and Roman. Babies can't survive long without milk. A Doctor at the Hospital told me that. She had one growing inside of her. They had to cut it out." He leaned forward and whispered, "I wish I knew how they got the baby inside there in the first place. I think she ate it."

Unlike Patton, the baby didn't react at all to Logan's theories. No bright smile or telling Logan that he was the smartest person in the whole Hospital. Just a sleepy gurgle and a fart.

Babies were overrated, Logan decided. Even Roman babbled at his ideas and Patton had assured him that meant Roman thought the idea was amazing. This baby? This baby yawned at his theories. Terrible. Logan felt insulted.

Still, just because the baby was a jerk it didn't mean that Logan should be one too. "I'll try my best to make sure that you survive," Logan promised the baby. "I hear the driver saying that she's gonna go to the next town and I'll find baby food there for you and Roman. Proper clothes too. We can't keep wearing our hospital gowns. Yours doesn't fit properly and I don't think people wear them outside hospitals." He sighed and rolled over, making sure that the baby didn't get crushed in the process. "I don't know how we're going to survive this," he confessed to the baby. "We have no money, no food, no shelter. You don't even have a name." Logan swallowed and said in a breathy whisper, "I'm scared. 

"And you can't help. You're just a baby," Logan continued, tears welling up in his eyes. "And so is Roman and Patton knows just as much as I do. No, he knows less because he didn't like listening to the Doctors talk about life out here." He let out a shaky breath and curled up as much as he could with the baby in his arms. "I don't know what we're going to do. The Doctors are gonna find us and put us back in our cells and be mad at us and put our chips back in and-" Logan cut himself off by pushing his hand into his mouth to muffle his sobs and squeezing his eyes tight. Tears slid out from behind his eyelids and he shook with sobs. They had been planning this for months now and now it was all ruined and they were gonna be captured and, and, and-

A tiny hand wrapped around Logan's littlest finger and his eyes snapped open to see the baby looking up at him with one green eye and one purple one, his whole hand holding Logan's pinky. And the grip... the grip was surprisingly tight was such a young baby.

And suddenly? It all clicked into place. Before, Logan hadn't understood why Patton wanted to take this baby with them. Roman? They had bonded with Roman but this had been just a lump. Had been. Past tense. It was like Logan's heart that had only ever been a place for Roman and Patton had been pried open and this tiny little baby had slotted himself firmly in place. 

Logan stared at the baby, tears still sliding down his cheeks. He swallowed before gently lifted the baby up so they were eye to eye, keeping his pinky in the baby's hold the whole time. "You're going to survive," he whispered. He smiled when the baby blinked at him with those mix-matched eyes. "You and Roman and Patton. All three of you will survive. I don't care if I have to tear the world in half to make sure it'll happen. It will happen." Logan leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss to the baby's forehead.

"I swear it to you, little one. You will survive to be given a name."

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##  _**January 13, 2020  
12:37PM** _

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Patton beamed at Virgil and hugged his younger brother in for a tight hug. "VeeVee, it's been forever! Look at you!" He pulled back to look his brother over. "Oh, you grew your hair out! It looks amazing!"

"Thanks, Pat," Virgil said with a little smile, patting it gently. It was short - though still longer than it had been before - curly at the top and shaved at the sides. It looked right on Patton's baby brother but so much different than it had since the last time Patton had seen him in the summer. "I just wanted a bit of a change, you know? Try a new look." 

Patton took Virgil's hand - just like he had when Virgil was still learning to walk - and led him over to one of the café's outdoor tables. "It looks great on you, Sweetheart," he told him, sitting down at a table. "Oh, College life agrees with you, Virge! You're your own man now! All grown up."

His baby brother was all grown up. Both of them were. Yep, Paton's heart was definitely breaking.

"Hardly," Virgil muttered, a smile playing on his lips. "I'm nineteen, not old like you, Old man. Thirty-two this Saturday. Excited?"

Patton laughed and nodded. He grabbed two menus and passed one to Virgil. "Sure am! But Logan said he was gonna bake me a cake for my birthday! It's not fair! I only bought him an ice cream cake for his!" Patton puffed out his cheeks and whined, "Logan always one-ups me, VeeVee!" 

Virgil rolled his eyes fondly. "Oh yeah, definitely. It's not like he bakes a cake for all of our birthdays." He pointed at Patton with a smirk. "He's been making us cakes since we had access to sugar and you know it."

"Okay, okay," Patton giggled. "You're right. He's a big old softy."

The two of them shared a laugh at their older brother before falling into a comfortable silence as they looked the menus over. Finally, after a long moment, Virgil asked awkwardly, "How's Roman doing? I got a text from him this morning telling me to come to morning training. He seems pretty mad still."

Patton sighed, putting his menu down and resting his chin in his hand. "He's... still pretty upset, VeeVee. He's confused and mad and I think he's scared his family's falling apart."

"I moved across town, not across the Country," Virgil scoffed. He rolled his eyes but Patton could see the hurt he was trying to hide. Roman wasn't the only one afraid, even if Virgil didn't want to say it out loud. "Besides, it's not like it came out of nowhere. I told you guys about this last year. He's had a whole year to come to terms with it."

Patton smiled sympathetically and patted his hand. "I know, Kiddo. But I don't think Roman really expected it to happen. You're his only baby brother, Vee, and he got used to the idea of you wanting to do what he does." Patton shrugged and smiled at the server when he brought over two glasses of water. "Thank you," he chirped, picking his glass up and taking a sip.

Virgil sighed and slumped in his chair. Patton ignored the obvious sulking from across the table and cheerfully gave the server both his and Virgil's order. The two of them, Logan, and Roman had come to this place so often that Patton knew their favourites like the back of his hand. He smiled and turned back to Virgil when the server left. "Anyway, he misses you, Virge. We all do."

"I know, Pat," Virgil sighed. He tapped his fingers against the table. "But... I gotta do this. I don't want to be a superhero like you guys. I want to be a vet." He smiled softly and Patton could tell that he was thinking of helping puppies or kittens or some other animals. "It's my dream, Pat."

Patton's smile widened. "And you have no idea how proud I am that you're doing that," he said. And he was. He was so, so proud of Virgil for following his dreams and trying to become a vet. For going to College and starting his life. But... "Just because you're starting your new adult life doesn't mean you have to leave your old one behind," he said gently. "Training, for instance. You used to love morning training."

Virgil's smile turned nostalgic and he nodded. "Yeah, you're right," he said softly. 

Patton thought back to him and Logan teaching their baby brothers how to throw a punch, how to protect each other, and how to spar. The laughter that seemed to join each and every one of their training sessions. It was the best way to start off each and every day. Now it felt empty and lifeless. And thanks to Roman's new attitude, full of resentment.

"Come to afternoon training," Patton begged. "Please, Vee? We all miss you. Yes," he laughed at Virgil's disbelieving look, "even Roman. Especially Roman. Plus," a worried frown grew on Patton's lips, "I'm worried, Kiddo. It's so different not seeing you each day and you know I worry."

'And you know I have a reason to,' went unsaid.

There was a long moment when Virgil said nothing, just staring at the table with a thoughtful look on his face. Finally, he sighed and shrugged with a little smile. "Okay, fine. But I have the right to leave before five o'clock. I got class tomorrow-" he was cut off with an 'oof' as Patton pulled him into a hug from across the table, the two brothers falling back into laughter.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Patton squealed, bouncing a little in his seat. "Trust me, Virgil, you won't regret this!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: In the past, the four escaped subjects raid Walmart for food and clothes. In the present, Roman deals with his brother's decision to go to College.
> 
> Warnings: Mentions of stun guns and mentions of eating disorders.

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##  _**January 4, 2001  
2:19 AM** _

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Logan looked the grocery store door up and nodded before giving Patton a firm nod. "Give me the babies," he ordered, holding out his arms. "You'll most likely need your full concentration for this."

"I don't know about this, Lolo," Patton said hesitantly as he passed the two sleeping babies over to Logan, who held them only semi-awkwardly. "The Doctors said that stealing was bad."

"They said that because they didn't want us to take extra food when it was in arm's reach," Logan explained with a sigh. "Something we did several times. It didn't bother you then."

Patton pouted at him and stomped his foot. "That was different! We were starving then-"

Logan arched an eyebrow and glanced down at the babies. "And they are starving now," he pointed out. And he was right. Other than stolen bottles of water, a banana, and a bottle of newborn milk stolen from an actual newborn, none of them had had a single thing to eat. And it was showing. Roman had lost some of his chub and the unnamed baby was a lot smaller than he should be. "They won't survive much longer without food," Logan said to Patton softly. "I know you don't like this but we need to do it."

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment before Patton fixed his jaw and turned to the store's door, holding out his hands and squeezing his eyes shut. Logan didn't look away from Patton, not even when he heard metal doors squeaked and strain as they were pried open. He worried for a moment that the noise would wake the babies but, very luckily, they remained quiet the entire time.

Patton gasped for breath when he stopped, doubling over and supporting himself against his knees. "D-did I do it?"

"You sure did," Logan said proudly, looking at the doors with a bright smile on his face. The metal doors had been pried open, leaving a nice sized hole for them to walk through. "You did amazingly, Patton. But-"

"I'm not done yet," Patton finished, wiping his forehead. He smiled at Logan tiredly. "Wait here. I'll be out in a little bit" Patton slipped inside the Walmart, leaving Logan standing outside with two very small and hungry babies in his arms.

Logan sighed and looked around nervously. He felt so vulnerable out in the parking lot without Patton watching his back. Doctors could be watching them from anywhere with stun guns waiting at their sides. Guards could be on their way over here to drag them all back to the Hospital with the Doctors waiting there to rechip them. He swallowed and pushed back those thoughts. They would do nothing to help anything right now. 

But, perhaps stepping into the shadows a little more would help.

"I am very glad that the two of you are asleep right now," Logan whispered, looking up at the moon. It was so beautiful when not looked at through a barred window. "The two of you would find this very upsetting. But it'll be alright. We will be getting you both some food right now. And something to carry you in." He smiled down at them gently. "And a book of names too. We need to find you a proper name, little one," he told the unnamed baby softly.

The response he got from the baby was nothing but a little grunt. Logan sighed. From his experience these last few days, grunts meant only one thing. He really hoped that this store had more diapers in it. 

He startled when Patton poked his head out of the hole in the door. His friend's face was drenched with sweat but he had a bright grin on his face. "Finished," Patton chirped. "Got all the cameras crushed into little balls and the people putting the things away knocked out!" He skipped out of the hole and held out his arms demandingly. "Now gimme one of the cuties! I'll get the diapers and carrier bags and you get some food Then we can both find some clothes for ourselves. 'kay, 'kay?"

"Of course," Logan agreed. He passed Roman over to Patton and sighed in relief at being relieved of the extra weight. "We need backpacks too."

Patton nodded. "Got it!" He walked back inside and disappeared into the aisles. Logan took a deep breath and looked back down to the baby, just in time to see the baby's eyes open seconds before tired and hungry cries started up.

"Shhh, shhh," Logan cooed, rocking him back and forth as he walked inside. He grabbed a cart and awkwardly started to push it with one hand. "We're getting you food now, little one." He squinted up at the signs. His glasses had gotten chipped in the escape making it even harder to read than normal. But eventually, he found the aisle with all the baby food. 

There were so many different kinds.

Logan ended up grabbing plenty of the little jars with mashed foods inside, about ten boxes with bottles of something called "powered formula", newborn food, inside, and some little biscuits for Roman to chew on. Roman liked to chew on things ever since his teeth started to grow in. He also grabbed a sippy cup for Roman and a baby bottle for the baby.

Logan immediately broke the box full of formula opened and poured one of the bottles inside the baby bottle. He firmly put the top on and held it to the baby's mouth. "Come on then," he said gently. "I know it's cold but you gotta drink it."

It seemed that the baby didn't need the encouragement. Almost immediately, the baby latched onto the bottle and started to drink. Logan sighed in relief and paused, resting against the cart and smiling tiredly at his small burden. "There we are," he whispered. "I told you that I'd find a way for you to survive."

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##  _**January 13, 2020  
1:02 PM** _

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Roman stared out his window with a sad expression on his face. His right wing was stretched out in front of him and he was slowly grooming it. His feathers had been puffing up so much lately that it was making it harder and harder to groom. And Roman knew that it was completely, totally, one hundred percent, his own damn fault.

Really, Roman should know better than to forget to groom his wings. Wing care was super important! How could he please Icarus' adoring fans with puffy feathers?! It just wouldn't do!

Before, Virgil would help groom Roman's wings but since Virgil was off to stupid College, Roman had to do it all by himself. 

College. Who even cared about something as stupid as College? College was dumb and stupid and you didn't learn anything important at College. Roman thought that College was the stupidest thing that his baby brother could've thought of.

His gave drifted over to the stolen Arts College poster he had ripped from a wall on one of his daily flights. His mood turned melancholy as he took in the picture of the man standing on a stage with roses littered around him. 'Yeah,' Roman thought with an air of jealousy that was somehow both general and directly pointed at Virgil. 'College is so stupid.'

Who cared that Virgil was going off to make new friends and leave his older brother behind? His older brother that was stuck inside all day except for when he was in costume? Roman certainly didn't care. And it didn't matter that Virgil was going off to be a terrific vet and start his own life. Roman had his own life. He didn't need his emo younger brother.

Roman sighed and flopped back on his canopy bed. "Who am I kidding," he muttered. Sadly, there was no answer to his open question. Rude. And before he realized what he was doing, Roman had his phone in his hands and was staring at Virgil's number.

He had made such an ass of himself these past few days. Going on live TV and telling everyone that there was going to be a new member of their team. Roman wasn't an idiot. Virgil was just as stubborn as him and wouldn't turn his back on stupid College, not now. All Roman did was make a complete fool of himself and got embarrassed by Logan carrying him off. And then sending that text this morning?! Ugh, no wonder Virgil stayed away from him! His older brother was the world's biggest drama Queen in the world!

But... if he admitted that he was wrong then he'd have to admit why and... Roman didn't think he could stand the pitiful looks from his normal looking brothers. It would just be too awful. And Roman would probably start crying and there was nothing worse than running eyeshadow.

Roman tossed the phone across the room. 

He sighed and turned onto his side, pulling his laptop over to him and pulling up his blog. He posted:

[Does anyone else get having something about you that draws so much attention and you love it? But you also hate that it draws so much damn attention?]

Roman sighed and rested his chin on his hand. This computer was the only normal interaction he got outside his brothers. And he really did love his brothers! He adored them! Patton was so supportive and he was finally gaining some more weight! Roman was so proud of him for eating more than he had before. He didn't think he had ever been so proud of his older brother than he had been when he saw a bit of chub on Patton's stomach at morning training. The morning training that his baby brother wasn't at.

Annnnnnnnnnnnd, welcome back bad mood! How good to see you again!

Roman pushed those awful feelings back and reminded himself to ask Logan to make him some hot chocolate. Logan made the best hot chocolate ever, even if he sometimes didn't mix the power all the way through. It was the thought that counted!

Just when Roman could almost taste that powerdy hot chocolate on his lips, his feathers bristled and he froze. He sat up clumsily and looked around wildly. The windows were closed and the door was locked shut. Roman shivered a little. For some reason, he felt like he was being watched.

Roman forced himself to stand up, his feathers puffed up behind him, and walk over to the window. He looked around nervously and couldn't seem to calm down even when he didn't see a single person outside. 'It was just a bird,' he tried to convince himself. 'Everything's fine.'

But even so, Roman drew the curtains closed. Like Logan always said, it was better safe than sorry. You never knew who was watching.


End file.
